Chapter 556: Heavenly Ruin: The Ascension Stand-Off

The moment the Morningstar Traverse appeared, Song Shiyuan inside the Unmoving Vajra grew visibly more serious.

With the Morningstar Kingdom’s only Star-Annihilator-class Ship now on site, not even a whole armada of battleships or dreadnoughts could compare.

Still, his eyes stayed resolute. He wasn’t backing down.

“The ascension of Dragon-Spine Floating-land is almost complete. Nothing can change the outcome now. Song Shiyuan, you’re taking this too far!”

A cool, indifferent voice echoed from the Star-Annihilator-class Ship, laced with the unique authority of a battleship admiral—a clear, if subtle, warning.

But Song Shiyuan wasn’t fazed in the least. His stance remained immovable.

“Your Majesty, the Clan Elder made it clear: after the energy tide has passed, he’ll personally greet all our ‘distinguished guests.’ But only after the tide is over!”

That answer clearly didn’t satisfy Rosetta Morningstar aboard the Morningstar Traverse. He hadn’t expected Song Shiyuan to be so unyielding even after revealing himself.

Inside the Unmoving Vajra, Song Shiyuan’s heart remained clear as glass. Not even the pressure from a Star-Annihilator captain could shake him.

This ascension of Dragon‑Spine Continent was the most significant event for the Song Family in three thousand years, bar none.

A successful upgrade to Seventh‑Tier Floating-land would be another step toward joining the Immortal Houses. More importantly, the power surge from the coming energy tide would be key to closing the gap with the real Immortals.

Rosetta Morningstar was right about one thing: the expansion of Dragon‑Spine Continent was now unstoppable. But that didn’t mean these outsiders couldn’t make a move amid the chaos.

If these dozens of battleships, dreadnoughts, and that Star-Annihilator entered Dragon‑Spine now, they’d all leech off the incoming energy tide, cutting its benefits for everyone.

Not just the lower-ranked Song clansmen—even the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang, which was poised at the heart of the Floating-land’s Origin Core, would see its incoming boost cut down to size.

Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!

Above the Unmoving Vajra, at the prow of the Three-Eyed Clan’s Dominion Flagship, brilliant light condensed. The mighty Death Calamity Star Cannon, mounted on the flagship, began charging under Song Shiyuan’s command.

“Your Majesty, please don’t push any harder. Or else, we might end up visiting the Torch Judgement Court together!”

Song Shiyuan emphasized those last four words, and as the phrase ‘Torch Judgement Court’ hung in the air, every power on the opposing side—including Rosetta Morningstar—visibly tensed.

Everyone there knew Song Shiyuan all too well.

As one of the Song Family’s most pivotal figures, their second unshakeable pillar, Song Shiyuan didn’t make these threats lightly. When he spoke like this, it meant he was absolutely ready for a showdown.

So if they really kept pressing, there was every chance the Dominion Flagship ahead would fire first without warning.

If Seventh-Tier powerhouses really did fight within human Torch Territory, causing deaths, the four great Torch Courts would certainly get involved.

In the end, the only option left for Rosetta Morningstar and the Kingdom’s envoys was a heavy, silent stalemate. All they could do was watch, powerless, as Dragon‑Spine steadily expanded beneath them.

Four thousand light-years—

Five thousand light-years—

Six thousand light-years—

—

Finally, Dragon‑Spine Continent’s diameter burst past eight thousand light-years. Only then did its expansion begin to slow.

At last, its diameter leveled off at 8,400 light-years.

For a Seventh‑Tier Floating-land, that size was a little small. Most would be closer to 10,000, but it made sense—Dragon-Spine was newly ascended. With hundreds or even a thousand years of settling, it would still grow further.

As the floating-land finished expanding, unique energy ripples began spreading out across Dragon‑Spine.

“It’s the Seventh‑Tier Floating-land’s energy tide!”

Excited gasps filled the many warships representing the Kingdom’s powers.

Plenty of captains couldn’t hide the burning desire in their eyes.

The surge from a Seventh‑Tier Floating-land was enough to let captains who’d been stuck at the battleship or dreadnought stage for a millennium take the next step.

But when those feelings of envy faded, only resignation and frustration were left.

This wasn’t their homeland ascending. It was another quasi-Immortal house taking a final step; nothing they could claim a share of.

The Song clansmen down on Dragon-Spine Continent had no idea what was happening in space. Their eyes were fixed on the energy tides sweeping the floating-land, and as each surge grew, ripples began stirring the promotion task panels on every Torch Battleship.

Blazing Fire Valley, inside the Heavenly Ruin.

Song Chi locked his full attention on the upgrade mission panel in front of him.

[Battleship Promotion Task (Heavenly Ruin)]

[Current Success Rate: 92.03%]

…

[Battleship Promotion Task (Heavenly Ruin)]

[Current Success Rate: 90.81%]

…

[Current Success Rate: 92.84%]

…

[Current Success Rate: 90.81%]

…

[Current Success Rate: 93.52%]

…

[Current Success Rate: 90.81%]

…

With each crest of the energy tide, Heavenly Ruin’s upgrade chances kept climbing to new heights—only to fall back to 90.81% when the wave receded.

This ever-changing success rate left every Song clansman attempting a promotion on edge, afraid to lose focus. At one point, Heavenly Ruin’s upgrade chance soared to a fresh peak.

[Current Success Rate: 95.01%]

The moment Song Chi saw this number, a wave of certainty surged through him. His instincts screamed—this was the very peak of Dragon-Spine’s surge.

Trusting that gut feeling completely, he hesitated not a second.

“Heavenly Ruin, promote now!”

As he pressed the confirmation button, the entire ship was instantly engulfed in endless eln-energy, the first sign of its official move from battleship to dreadnought.

Seizing his moment, Song Chi stepped off the ship.

He wasn’t the only one. All across Dragon-Spine, tens of thousands of clansmen triggered their own ship upgrades at this exact second.

That included the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang, deep in the floating-land’s core.

Just as the energy tide hit its highest point, Song Wujian saw the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang’s success rate barely break 60%. Without delay, he launched its Star-Annihilator upgrade.

—

Every second seemed to stretch on forever.

At the heart of Blazing Fire Valley, in the sky—

Wrapped in eln-energy, Song Chi hovered high above, worry etched in his gaze as he looked down at the Heavenly Ruin.

Then suddenly, the swirling energies around the ship erupted; in a blink, Heavenly Ruin’s hull began to expand.

“It worked!”

Song Chi finally let out the breath he’d been holding.

Heavenly Ruin had made the leap to dreadnought—without even needing the Timeworld Fruit. That was an enormous relief.

That meant when it came time to tackle the Star-Annihilator stage, he could still use the Sixth-tier Timeworld Fruit. He wasn’t forced to put all his risk on the Nine Lives Game of Life and Death.

The Nine Lives Game was powerful, but you only got nine shots. Better to avoid it when possible.

Song Chi kept his eyes glued to Heavenly Ruin, watching every stage of the expansion.

15,000 meters—

18,000 meters—

32,000 meters—

—

Time passed by. In the end, the warship’s hull topped out at 160,000 meters.

Even that absurd hull length alone spoke to what a monster of a ship Heavenly Ruin was becoming.

Still, Song Chi didn’t linger on that. He rushed aboard straight away, reattaching all the modules he’d removed using the Tri-Eye Spirit-Lock Ring—including his second supercannon, the Myriad‑Spirit Annihilation Bow. He then wasted no time opening the ship’s detailed status screen.

[Name: Heavenly Ruin]

[Model: Torch Dreadnought-Class Eln-Energy Frigate]

[Level: lv60]

[Special Traits: Voidlock, Regeneration]

[Core Components: Silver Torch Hull lv60, Blood Spear (Gold) lv70, Myriad-Spirit Annihilation Bow (Silver) lv70, Divine Thunder Cannon (Gold) lv70, Taiyi Quantum Swordlight Battery (Silver) lv70, Celestial Godslayer Cannon (Silver) lv70, Soul-Annihilating Iris Beam (Red) lv60, Explosive Particle Cannon (Red) lv60, Gold-Source Armor-Piercer (Red) lv60, Shadowbane Cannon (Orange) lv50, Scarlet Sky Barrage Cannon (Orange) lv50, Electromagnetic Arc Cannon (Orange) lv50, Frostlight Hailstorm Cannon (Orange) lv50, Neutron-Star Core Armor (Gold) lv70, Antimatter Evolution Engine (Black) lv70, Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield (Gold) lv70, Eyes of Heaven (Gold) lv70, Eln-Energy Cultivation Chamber lv32 (18/20)]

[Additional Modules:

Timepiece Chessboard (Prismatic) lv70

Black Hole Evolution Layer (Black) lv70, Void Sea Projection Emperor’s Tomb (Black) lv70

Pusa Zen Seal (Gold) lv70, Angel King’s Authority Wings (Gold) lv70, Destiny Compass (Gold) lv70, Celestial Authority Ring (Gold) lv79

Last Aegis (Silver) lv70, Mirage Dragon Metamorphosis Pearl (Silver) lv70, Sky-Domain AI System (Silver) lv70, No.004 Cultivation Secret Realm of Chicang (Silver) lv70, Yang·Tongxin Pendant (Silver) lv60, Deathstar Tracking Mark (Silver) lv70, Superbody Compression Plate (Silver) lv70, Voidlock Skyseal Sigil (Silver) lv70, Scarlet Vault Jump Drive (Silver) lv70

Parent‑Child Spirit Control Rings (Red) lv60, Black-Gold Ramming Spike (Red) lv60, Fallen Angel Warriors (Red) lv60, Behemoth Heart (Red) lv60, Superpower Controller (Red) lv60, Soulcalling Demon Golem (Red) lv60, Oath Contract Module (Red) lv60, Bind-God Chains (Red) lv60, Totem Spirit Pillar (Red) lv60, Long‑Range Communication Disk (Red) lv60, Master‑Servant Pact (Red) lv60, Skybreaker Drill (Red) lv60, Plasma Guardian (Red) lv60, Taoyi Soul-Suppressing Stele (Red) lv60, Void Shadowslayer Soldier-Tree (Red) lv60, Warship Position-Switcher (Red) lv60, Aurora Jump Drive (Red) lv60, Isometric Shrink Module (Red) lv60, Void Shroud (Red) lv60, Life-System Medical Repair Pod (Red) lv60

External Armor-Piercing Cobalt Launcher (Orange) lv59, Neural Remote Control System (Orange) lv50, Shadowfall Chapter (Orange) lv50, Space‑skipping Pearl (Orange) lv50, Mirage Thrusters (Orange) lv50, Abnormal Status Purifier (Orange) lv50, Viral Spore Repulsion Membrane (Orange) lv50, Holy Cross Marker (Orange) lv50, Ultrasound Magnetic Detector (Orange) lv50, Psionic Lightbeam Integration Module (Orange) lv50, Feathered Delivery Platform (Orange) lv50, Multifunctional Conversion Furnace (Orange) lv50, Atomic Repair Instrument (Orange) lv50, Water Molecule Shield Membrane (Orange) lv50

Precision Drop Pod (Blue) lv30, Blood-Soul Stamp (Blue) lv30, Spatial Beacon Launcher (Blue) lv30, Sonic Stealth Field (Blue) lv30, Ember Battleship Crew License (Blue) lv30 (113/170)]

[Eln-Energy Core: 10,000,000/10,000,000]

[Inventory: Immortal Spear, Seventh-tier Black Devourer King Beast corpse, Silver Dragon Spear, Yan Shen Divine Sword, 22 Dominion Souls, 10 wisps of Eighth-Tier Floating-land Origin…]

Seeing the full stats for his newly promoted dreadnought, Song Chi’s joy only deepened.

With the promotion, Heavenly Ruin gained another supercannon slot, while its core module boost rose from 300% as a battleship to a full 400%.

On top of that, with the Torch Hull hitting level 60, module slots shot up to 170. From just a couple dozen open slots, he was now back to over fifty—no more slot anxiety for a while.

Most crucially, the module strengthening limit had jumped from lv79 to lv89, meaning parts could one day reach eighth-tier strength.

But there was a catch. He was still only a Silver Torch Seed, which capped those upgrades for now.

“Golden Upgraded Fire Source, Golden Upgraded Fire Source… Getting something at that level is no easy feat…”

He thought back on two centuries of buying up expensive golden fireseed oddities and any clue he could find—and still hadn’t laid hands on a single one. Song Chi couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

After a moment, he shook his head, forcing the thought aside. Steering his warship up toward the heavens, he activated its jump system immediately.

What really mattered now was the Clan Elder’s Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang. All the rest could wait.

Dragon-Spine’s core, the newly promoted Heavenly Ruin arrived deep underground.

Not long after, Song Yan’s Scorching Sea Blazer also joined up.

Seeing both ships had made the leap, Song Wujian and Song Shixing couldn’t hide their satisfaction.

Inside Heavenly Ruin’s control room, Song Chi greeted them quickly, then left a Voidform Avatar behind as he dived into the Market himself.

At the Market’s Long-Range Random Space Gate Transfer Platform, a thought was all it took to power up the array.

As the portal shimmered to life, the next round of Market trade began.

He was so urgent to start this transaction because of a deal with the Night Elves, delayed for five years already.

Upgrading to Star-Annihilator may take longer than the previous leap, but it wasn’t slow—and if the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang upgrade failed, he’d have no time to get Eighth-Tier Evil God Blood from the Fifth-Tier Night Elf.